After 20 years I have finally bit the bullet and applied for a Toronto Public Library card. Yes, it has been that long. As a child I was only in Toronto in the summers, but I spent as many days and as many hours as possible in the Oakwood and Rogers library. I can practically feel the goosebumps rising on my skin from the air conditioner as they did, even though I often sat in the front by the window to get as much warmth from the sunlight as possible.
In any case, here I am. Library card in hand. I am now determined to use it to listen to audiobooks —there are too many things to read and not enough time. I am voracious these days. To my surprise, audiobooks are in high demand, and there are actual waitlists involved in their procurement from the library. Perhaps something to do with licenses, though I’m not impatient enough to enquire. Nearly everything I am eager to audio read is upwards of a 15 week wait, except for Marlon James’ A Brief History of Seven Killings.
I have become quite obsessed with Marlon James these days. Between his podcast where he discusses books written by dead authors, his interview by the NYT Book Review podcast, and this Criterion exclusive, I’m convinced the man is chronically loveable. I have hardly scratched the surface of Seven Killings, but I am entranced. He writes brutality and violence so well that you will wince, whether you are reading it on the page (I find myself cross referencing the hard copy, often) or listening to the full cast audiobook as I am. Speaking of the cast —some of these accents are atrocious. Bam Bam’s is very good. What a character.
Some other highlights, for me, were found in the characters Demus and Nina/Kim/Dorcas/Millicent, Alex Pierce, and Weeper (god, Weeper!), but especially Demus who disappeared as quickly as he entered the story. Indelible is the moment he says he has maybe laughed two times in his whole life, but then thinks it makes him sound old since he is only 20.